WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is preparing a fresh outreach to the Muslim world in coming days, senior U.S. officials say, one that will ask those in the Middle East and beyond to reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S.

Mr. Obama is preparing to deliver that message in a wide-ranging speech, perhaps as early as next week, these officials say. The president intends to argue that bin Laden's death, paired with popular uprisings sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, signal that the time has come to an end when al Qaeda could claim to speak for Muslim aspirations.

The picture above accompanies an article in Al Jazeera from earlier this month. It looks like President Obama's plans to transform the Middle East are ahead of schedule. Al Jazeera English: Egypt's Labour Day rally mobilises workers:

While demonstrators shouted enthusiastically, many bystanders felt confronted with an unfamiliar idea. "What is this communism, is it a religion?" asked an older man sceptically. However, after he learned about the demands of the protest, he appeared to embrace them zealously.

Just what the Middle East needs: another zealot. Hopefully the older man will return to his original question and a more peaceful path once he realizes that Communism is organized atheism.